Smelting and electrolyzing process



R.- RonmAN. l SMELTING AND ELEcTRoLvzlNG PRocEss.

x APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1922. 1 426,507Y Patented Aug. 22, 1922.

47m/mrs PATENT ori-ICE RICHARD RODRIAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOR ATO RODRIAN ELECTRO-MECLAIWv LURGICAL CO. INCORPORATED, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

SMELTING AND ELCTROLYZING PROCESS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug'. 22, 1922.

Application led March 3, 1922. Serial No. 540,730.

To all whom t may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, RICHARD RODRIAN, a citizen of Germany, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New fYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smelting and Electrolyzing Processes, of which the following is a specication.

The present invention has for its object to provide a process and apparatus for the eflicient smelting of metal-bearing materlals, and for the recovery of the metal or metals from the molten mass by an electrolytic treatment.

The invention will be described in det-ail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

The said drawings represent, as an eX- ample, a satisfactory smelting furnace embodying this invention. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus, with parts broken away and partsin section; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the furnace cover, and Fig.

3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of' Fi 2 y s indicated in Fig. vl, the furnace may be supported on legs 10 and preferably comprises a shell composed of a bottom 11 and of a cylindrical body 12, both made of sheet iron. Within this shell is located a lining 13 of fire-brick or similar refractory material, which is a non-conductor of electricity, so shaped as to form an interior chamber 14 which preferably ares upwardly. The upper end of this chamberis normally, closed by a cover which I prefer to make in separable sections, the cover illustrated comprising two sections 15 and 16 respectively, made of fire-brick orv like material, each notched at the centre of the cover,.so that when the sections are assembled, an opening 17 will be formed for the passage of the upper (positive) -electrode 18, generally made of carbon. The joint between the sections of the cover, is preferably made 'in the tongue-and-groove style indicated at, 19, 20, thereby preventing escape of the flames to the outside of the furnace. The re-brick sections 15, 16 may be4 secured incurved frames 21 of sheet metal,

,provided with handles 22 secured thereto by screws 23 or like fastenings, which may also project into the sections 15, 16 to connect said' sections with-the respective frames 21.

The electrode 18A is shown as extending vertically through a socket 24 in which it may be adjusted up and down, being se cured, after adjustment, by meansof a set screw 25. The socket 24 is located at the free end of a carrier arm 26 extending horizontally from another socket 27 movable on a vertical rod 28 both up and down to adjust the level of the arm `26 or to permit the arm to be raised sufliciently to remove the electrode from the furnace; and also circumferentially, that is to say, about the axis of the supporting rod 28, so as to bring the socket 24 and the electrode 18 into proper registry with the centre of the cover opening 17. A set screw 29 serves to lock the socket 27 after adjustment. have indicated a binding post or-like device for connection withv the positive currentsupplying wire 31.

At the bottom of the chamber 14 is located a conducting plate or disk 32 of iron, graphite or other suitable material, the upper surface of -which is preferably flush with the adjacent bottom surface of said chamber. By means of a wire, bar or other lead 33 and of a clamp 34, this plate 32 is connected with the negative current-supplyin wire 35. Y nto the chamber 14, at two dierent levels, lead pipes or nozzles 36,' 37 are pref v through, a pipe 38, and gas or other fuel l through a pipe 39, provided with a cock or valve 40. The pipe 41 will receive a mix- .ture of air and fuel if. the valve 40 is open,

but if said valve is closed, only air will pass to the pipe 41. From the latter, the air or the air-and-fuel mixture, as the case may be, passes to branches 42 having cocks or valves 43 and 44 controlling, individually, the connections of said branches 42 with the pipes or'nozzles 36 and 37 respectively. in such a manner that any one or more of these pipes or nozzles maybe disconnected or shut off without affecting the others.

4 From the bottom of the chamber 14 an outlet channel 45 inclined downwardly and outwardly leads through the fire-brick lining 13 and through the body 12` of the shell, said channel bein-g normally closed at its 46. Another outlet channel 47, preferably also inclined downwardly andv outwardly,

. leads from the lower part of the chamber 14,

at a level materiallv higher than the channel 45, through the lining 13 and shell body 12, a removable `plug indicated at 48 serving to normally Close the outer end of saidupper outlet channel 47 Finally, near the top of the chamber 14 is located a gas outlet 49 leading to a stack, and if desired, a suction fan or like appliance (not shown) may be interposed inthe connection of the gas outlet 49 with the stack. l

lin lF ig. 1, l havev indicated at 50 a Crucible (of graphite or other conducting material) set on the conducting plate or disk 32 and thus connected with the negative-pole of the source of electricity. 'llhis inserted Crucible is employed when the amount of material to be treated is considerably smaller than that for which'the chamber 14 is designed. lin this case, the ore, mineral, slag, scrap or other metal-bearing material isv charged into the Crucible 50 up to about the level indicated by the dotted line, so that the lower portion of the electrode 18 will be in contact with said Charge, a body of suitable metal, preferaby lead or a lead alloy, having first been placed in the lower portion of the crucible 50, as indicated at 51 and a body of similar metal being placed into the chamber 14 as indicated.

at 52. rllhis body of metal (lead or lead alloy), as well as the charge to be treated, which lies above said body` within the crucible 50, are melted, and kept in molten condition, by, heating, such heating being accomplished by hot combustion gases traveling in the annular portion of the chamber 14 around the crucible 50, said gases arising yfrom the burning of the fuel-and-air mixture supplied through the nozzle 36, 37 or some of them, a satisfactory regulation of the heat being obtainable by closing the individual valves 43, 44 partly or entirely; thus, if desired, only the upper nozzles 36 may be operative, or only the lower nozzles 37 or both sets of nozzles. When the charge in the Crucible is in a molten condition, it

will conduct the electric current which is thenv turned on and which will pass from` the electrode 18 through the molten charge to the body h 51 of lead or lead alloy, to the Crucible 50, the plate 32, lead 33, Clamp 34 y and negative wire 35. The passage ofthe current through the charge will electrolyze the latter, and cause the metal or metals contained in the charge to be depositedon the cathode formed by the molten body 51; in

vsome cases (depending on their nature), the

metals thus deposited will form alloys with` the cathode 51. ln any event, at the end/of the electrolytic operation, the body or` cathode 51, with the `metal or metals which have been deposited von it (or alloyed with it) from the charge, can `be treated by wellineaao'r known processes to separate .the several metals from each other, as desired. The metal 52 will, of course, also be melted during thel operation and serves to protect the plate 32 from being excessively heated, and to form additional Contact between such plate and the Crucible.

During the smelting and electrolytic treatments, the gaseous products leave by way of the outlet 49. The passage of the electricl current will, of course, serve to keep the material in its molten condition.

When larger amounts of material are to be treated, the Crucible 50 is not employed, but the charge of `ore or othermaterial is placed directly within the chamber 14, so as to be in Contact with the fire-brick lining 13.

ln this case, -a bath or body 52 of molten lead or lead alloy would be placed in the lower portion ofthe chamber 14, in Contact' Ywith' the conducting plate 32, so that this moltenconductingA body 52 will form the cathode. The -Charge of metal-bearing manozzles 36 are located. rlhese nozzles will therefore direct their blasts downwardly' upon the upper surface of the charge, particularly when the nozzles are inclined downwardly and inwardly, as described' above. 'llhe nozzles 37, on the lother hand are closed by the insertion of plugs of fireresisting material, or may be removed altogether. rllhe upper surface of the cathode 52 will be substantially flush with the lowermostpoint of that endof the outlet channel 47 which opens into the chamber 14. The heating may be accomplished, as before, by the combustion of a fuel-and-air mixture admitted through the nozzles 36, 36.

When the charge is molten, an'electric current will be passed therethrough in substantially the same "manner as described above, to deposit the metal or metals from the charge upon the cathode 52.- After the completion of the operation the cathode having mixed or alloyed therewith, such metal or metals is withdrawn through channel 45, but preferably only after the slag has first been withdrawnthrough channel 47.

While l have spoken of'v a metal-bearing charge, ll do not mean to 'imply that the charge must consist exclusively of\metal bearing material; on the contrary, l may` special, insertedcrucible, such as 50. Pref` erably, the material from which the metal is to be extracted is ground or powdered bev fore being brought into the chamber 14 or into the crucible 50, or may even be introduced in a molten state.

Various modifications may be made Without departing from the nature of my invenv tion as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. The herein-'described process ,which consists in rst smelting a charge of metal-containing material above a body of suitable molten metal and then electrolyzing the molten charge by the passage of an electric current, the, said body of molten metal being used as the cathode.

2. The herein-described process which consists in first smelting a charge of metalcontaining material above a body 0f molten lead or lead-alloy and then electrolyzing the molten charge by the passage of an electric current, the'sadl body of molten lmetal being used as the cathode.

' 3. The herein-described process which consists in* first smelting a charge of nely divided metal-containing material above a body Aof suitable molten metal andthen electrolyzin the molten charge by the passage of an e ectric current, the said body of molten metal being used as the cathode.

In testimony whereof I have hereuntoy set my-hand.

RICHARD RODRIAN. 

